Welcome to SEC Country’s daily Auburn football recruiting notebook with Auburn recruiting beat writer Benjamin Wolk. Today, we look at a major DE target for Auburn and the latest wrinkle in his recruitment.

Andres Fox restructures top list

On the first of the month, Andres Fox chopped down the list of schools recruiting him. The 6-foot-5 defensive end from Mobile (Ala.) released a list of six schools that included Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Florida and Southern Cal.

He hinted others were still recruiting him, but that he wanted to begin to focus solely on the aforementioned six.

Then LSU, who hadn’t recruited Fox much, emerged as another contender. Fox took a day trip to Baton Rouge, which earned him an offer.

It also realigned Fox’s top list of schools, something for Auburn — a potential favorite — to keep an eye on.

“LSU was a little late, but they’re in there … They’re in the top 3 with Alabama and Auburn,” Fox told SEC Country’s Sam Spiegelman at the Nike Opening camp in New Orleans.

Fox isn’t likely to leave the state of Alabama.

Auburn DE target Andres Fox (Sam Spiegelman/SEC Country)

The Tigers and the Crimson Tide are both chasing the pass rusher. He’s near the top of both teams’ recruiting boards. Auburn became the first to initiate serious contact, and that relationship has only grown since the end of the 2016 season when communication started picking up with regularity.

But the LSU visit made those Tigers a new factor for Auburn to worry about.

“I just talked with Coach O (Ed Orgeron) and (defensive line coach) Pete Jenkins. They introduced me to the whole staff,” Fox said. “He showed me that he works with a lot of great players. I feel like he’d make me a first rounder.”

Aside from that wrinkle in the top group, everything else remains the same for Fox.

Auburn and Alabama are still the most likely destinations. In fact, according to multiple sources close to Fox’s recruitment, Auburn is in the safest place because of how long it’s recruited him. That first-in-the-boat relationship has given the Tigers a slight edge over even the Crimson Tide, who Fox grew up rooting for.

Fox admits as much.

“They’re the first ones. They watched me play after the state championship when I played in their stadium, too, and we started building a great relationship,” Fox said.

Fox remains one of the more underrated prospects in the nation, but his offer sheet — and the efforts of the recruiting schools — show he’s one of the hottest defensive end commodities in the Southeast.

Here’s a look at some of his successful reps at the Nike Opening camp in New Orleans over the weekend.

Timaje Porter explains change of plans

It was set to be a big Friday for Auburn defensive tackle target Timaje Porter. The big day remains near, just not as close as originally planned.

Porter opted to push back his commitment date — which was set for March 24 — after his weekend visit to Baton Rouge, which conveniently matched up with his trip for the Nike Opening camp in New Orleans. Porter originally planned to choose between Auburn and LSU. That decision hasn’t changed, but he wants more time to make that choice.

Auburn DT target Sam Spiegelman (Sam Spiegelman/SEC Country)

“Really just the visit opened my eyes that there’s more out there than what the schools look like. It’s a process. I feel like I need to get more acquainted with both schools,” Porter told Spiegelman. “I’ll still make my decision more sooner than later. If it’s not the spring, it’ll still be the summer.”

Porter received an offer from LSU over the weekend. That capped off a successful visit with head coach Ed Oregeron and defensive line coach Pete Jenkins.

All in all, he enjoyed the trip to Louisiana.

“It was perfect, everything about it. Have you tasted LSU food? I don’t know what they do to their food, but it’s different than Alabama, man,” Porter said. “But time with Coach O and Pete Jenkins went real well.”